The second meeting topic will be Russia, by Allen Lynch. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia is projecting an autocratic model of governance abroad and working to destabilize liberal democracies. Russia caused an international uproar in 2016, when it interfered in the U.S. presidential contest. But Putin’s foreign policy toolkit includes other instruments, from alliances with autocrats to proxy wars with the U.S. in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. How does Putin conceive of national interests, and why do Russian citizens support him? How should the United States respond to Putin’s attempts to spread right-wing authoritarianism?